BILSTON
BILSTON A S O U V E N I R OF THE CELEBRATIONS ON THE PRESENTATION OF A
C H A R T E R OF I N C O R P O R A T I O N BY THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF HARROWBY, LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY OF STAFFORD
CHARTER DAY THURSDAY S E P T E M B E R 2 8 T H , 1933
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THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HARROWBY (LORD LIEUTENANT OF STAFFORDSHIRE).
HE CHARTER MAYOR COUNCILLOR HERBERT BEACH, J.P
THE CHARTER TOWN CLERK JOSEPH LEWIS ARLIDGE, ESQ.
The Charter HE granting of the Charter by His MAJESTY THE KING is the most important event in the local government history of the Township of Bilston. It will be the highest form of local government attainable until the population reaches 75,000 and Parliament grants County Borough powers. A MUNICIPAL" BOROUGH is a creature of the Crown, and the modern definition of the Royal Commission on Local Government is as follows : " Royal Charters are the symbol of a procedure that has its roots in antiquity and they are associated with ceremonials and tradition, which, in their judgment, are not merely superficial survivals, but have a real value in marking the continuity of local government and in fostering an ambition in local authorities, so to develop their administration that they may obtain the status of a Chartered Borough."
THE CHARTER creates a new body politic and corporate by name of the MAYOR> ALDERMEN and BURGESSES of the BOROUGH OF BILSTON. Thus the Inhabitants are, for the first time, associated in the name of the town, for hitherto the Bilston Township Commissioners and Local Board of Health, followed by the Urban District Council, formed the corporate body. THE BOROUGH COUNCIL to be elected on the 1st November of this year will consist of fifteen Councillors (three for each Ward) and five Aldermen. Each Alderman will be appointed as Returning Officer for one of the Wards of the BOROUGH, though he does not represent that Ward in the same way as a Councillor does. THE MAYOR is the chief citizen and takes social precedence over everyone except the KING in his own Borough. He need not necessarily be a member of the Council, but he must be qualified to be a Councillor or an Alderman. The subject of Incorporation was discussed nearly thirty years ago, but the first definite steps towards securing a Charter were taken in 1926 and 1928, and the Inhabitants, at a public meeting on 2gth February, 1928, approved the proposal..
The Council began its labours during the sittings of the Royal Commission on ^Local Government, and upon its subsequent Report, H. M. Privy Council modified the procedure for petitions. As a result of this, the Council deposited their Petition on the 30th day of March, 1931, and the official Inquiry was held at the Town Hall, Bilston on the l6th March, 1932. The proceedings were conducted by Mr. A. E. Marshall, M. Inst. C.E., of the Ministry of Health, and the Clerk of the Urban District Council presented the Council's case, which was supported by verbal and written evidence given by local residents, societies and associations, and manufacturing and trading concerns. There was no opposition to the application, and the customary examination of the case by the Government Departments followed. On the I7th July, 1933, His Majesty the King in Council approved the grant of the Charter, which will not operate, however, except for election purposes, until the first meeting of the • Council on the gth November, 1933. Mr. Councillor Herbert Beach, J.P., the present Chairman of the Urban District Council, is named in the Charter as Charter Mayor. Mr. Councillor Thomas Reay Wood, J.P., C.C., is named as Deputy Charter Mayor. Mr. Joseph Lewis Arlidge, the Clerk and Solicitor of the Urban District Council, is the Charter Town Clerk, and Mr. Thomas William Widlake Skemp, the Deputy Clerk, is named as his Deputy.
C H A R T E R OF I N C O R P O R A T I O N BY THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF HARROWBY, LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY OF STAFFORD
CHARTER DAY THURSDAY S E P T E M B E R 2 8 T H , 1933
^B •
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HARROWBY (LORD LIEUTENANT OF STAFFORDSHIRE).
HE CHARTER MAYOR COUNCILLOR HERBERT BEACH, J.P
THE CHARTER TOWN CLERK JOSEPH LEWIS ARLIDGE, ESQ.
The Charter HE granting of the Charter by His MAJESTY THE KING is the most important event in the local government history of the Township of Bilston. It will be the highest form of local government attainable until the population reaches 75,000 and Parliament grants County Borough powers. A MUNICIPAL" BOROUGH is a creature of the Crown, and the modern definition of the Royal Commission on Local Government is as follows : " Royal Charters are the symbol of a procedure that has its roots in antiquity and they are associated with ceremonials and tradition, which, in their judgment, are not merely superficial survivals, but have a real value in marking the continuity of local government and in fostering an ambition in local authorities, so to develop their administration that they may obtain the status of a Chartered Borough."
THE CHARTER creates a new body politic and corporate by name of the MAYOR> ALDERMEN and BURGESSES of the BOROUGH OF BILSTON. Thus the Inhabitants are, for the first time, associated in the name of the town, for hitherto the Bilston Township Commissioners and Local Board of Health, followed by the Urban District Council, formed the corporate body. THE BOROUGH COUNCIL to be elected on the 1st November of this year will consist of fifteen Councillors (three for each Ward) and five Aldermen. Each Alderman will be appointed as Returning Officer for one of the Wards of the BOROUGH, though he does not represent that Ward in the same way as a Councillor does. THE MAYOR is the chief citizen and takes social precedence over everyone except the KING in his own Borough. He need not necessarily be a member of the Council, but he must be qualified to be a Councillor or an Alderman. The subject of Incorporation was discussed nearly thirty years ago, but the first definite steps towards securing a Charter were taken in 1926 and 1928, and the Inhabitants, at a public meeting on 2gth February, 1928, approved the proposal..
The Council began its labours during the sittings of the Royal Commission on ^Local Government, and upon its subsequent Report, H. M. Privy Council modified the procedure for petitions. As a result of this, the Council deposited their Petition on the 30th day of March, 1931, and the official Inquiry was held at the Town Hall, Bilston on the l6th March, 1932. The proceedings were conducted by Mr. A. E. Marshall, M. Inst. C.E., of the Ministry of Health, and the Clerk of the Urban District Council presented the Council's case, which was supported by verbal and written evidence given by local residents, societies and associations, and manufacturing and trading concerns. There was no opposition to the application, and the customary examination of the case by the Government Departments followed. On the I7th July, 1933, His Majesty the King in Council approved the grant of the Charter, which will not operate, however, except for election purposes, until the first meeting of the • Council on the gth November, 1933. Mr. Councillor Herbert Beach, J.P., the present Chairman of the Urban District Council, is named in the Charter as Charter Mayor. Mr. Councillor Thomas Reay Wood, J.P., C.C., is named as Deputy Charter Mayor. Mr. Joseph Lewis Arlidge, the Clerk and Solicitor of the Urban District Council, is the Charter Town Clerk, and Mr. Thomas William Widlake Skemp, the Deputy Clerk, is named as his Deputy.
